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The Survivors
'' Survivors, from left to right: Francis, Bill, Zoey, and Louis in the No Mercy poster.]] '' Survivors, from left to right: Coach, Ellis, Nick, and Rochelle in the Dead Center poster.]] The Survivors are people in the world who have not contracted the Infection (or are carriers of the disease). The term, however, is commonly used to refer to the eight playable characters from the Left 4 Dead game series. Although the playable characters are immune, a comment by Bill suggests that they could become an Infected at any point. In Left 4 Dead, it is never explained how they met up with each other, or how long they have been together. At the start of the first campaign in Left 4 Dead 2, the playable characters have just met each other and do not even know each other's names. There are also non-playable Survivors that players will meet throughout the campaigns. In the Comic, the Survivors are referred to as "Tango-Mike" (T-M in the NATO Alphabet) by the APC Driver, probably in reference to Typhoid Mary, the most notorious real life carrier known in America. __toc__ Playable Survivors Each playable Survivor has his or her own unique appearance, personality, and back-story, making them easier to identify at a distance. Players can choose which Survivor they control in the lobby, or be automatically assigned to a Survivor that is not being controlled by a player when they join a game that is already in progress. Every Survivor plays the same; their differences are purely cosmetic and do not alter gameplay. When controlled as AI Bots, Survivors will have preference over specific weaponry, and will attempt to choose that type if possible. Introduced in Left 4 Dead NOTE: Left 4 Dead Survivors appear in The Passing for Left 4 Dead 2, but are unplayable characters. As the DLC The Sacrifice takes part in Left 4 Dead's story arc, it will be possible to play as the Left 4 Dead Survivors in Left 4 Dead 2 due to the DLC being ported to Left 4 Dead 2 as well. It is also revealed in The Sacrifice comic that the Survivors are Carriers, and that they have been inadvertently transmitting the disease throughout Philadelphia. Bill Bill is a Vietnam veteran who fought in the US Army 1st Special Forces Group. His combat skills have helped to keep him alive, and he is also the oldest of the group. He wears an olive green military beret, a matching jacket with a stained white shirt underneath, dark gray-brown pants, and jungle boots. In official media, he is usually seen wielding the Assault Rifle, and in-game, he prefers that weapon, probably to complement his back-story. He and Francis have a strenuous relationship, often spewing insults or jokes at one another, but these may or may not be friendlier than what they let on. He always has a lit cigarette in his mouth. It is revealed in The Passing that Bill was killed prior to the bridge being raised during The Sacrifice, enabling the safety of the other Left 4 Dead Survivors. His body can be seen next to the generator in the final level of The Passing at the Port, alongside his signature Assault Rifle, which can be taken and used by the player. Bill is voiced by Jim French. Francis Francis is a tough biker with tattoos covering his arms and neck. His tattoos identify him as a member of "Hell's Legion", a name possibly inspired by the real-world Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club. Since his character model has changed, it has been speculated that Francis' new face was modeled after the head developer of the game, Mike Booth, and that he has the Lambda symbol from the Half-Life series cut into his hair. He wears a black leather vest over a white tank top, fingerless gloves, black jeans and boots. In official media, he is usually seen wielding either the Pump Shotgun or the Auto Shotgun, and in-game, prefers those types of weapons. Francis is voiced by Vince Valenzuela. Louis Louis' original concept was an assistant manager at a local retail electronics chain store. His design was later changed, and he was made a Junior Systems Analyst in his company's IT department. His clothing resembles the typical business man, but seems to emulate Shaun from ''Shaun of the Dead'', who wore a red tie and white shirt, and was an assistant manager at a local retail electronics chain store. He keeps the sleeves rolled up and the tie loose, and also wears a black watch on his left wrist. In official media, he is usually seen wielding a Submachine Gun or dual Pistols. In-game, Louis prefers the Submachine Gun and Assault Rifle. At some point prior to The Passing, Louis was injured, rendering him unable to stand on his own. Because of this, he uses a Heavy Machine Gun at the Port. Louis is voiced by Earl Alexander. Zoey Zoey is in her first year of college, which makes her at least 18 (she could be older depending on what age she was when she entered college). She wears a reddish-pink track jacket, blue jeans, converse shoes and keeps her hair tied up in a ponytail. Her original design was based on Alesia Glidewell, who also worked with Valve on Portal as a model for the character Chell. However, when the character designs were updated later in development, Zoey was made to resemble actress/model Sonja Kinski instead. In official media, she is usually seen wielding dual Pistols. In-game, Zoey shows preference for the Hunting Rifle. Zoey is voiced by Jen Taylor. ''Introduced in Left 4 Dead 2 Coach Coach is a Physical Education teacher at the local high school in the town of Savannah, where he originates from. Having sustained a knee injury in college which ended his prospective career as a defensive linesman, Coach took up teaching as a possible path for a pro coaching career. He wears a polo shirt in the yellow and purple colors of the high school he works at, fingerless gloves, beige slacks and gray sneakers. He is the oldest of the group and serves in an unofficial capacity as leader. In-game, he shows preference for Tier 1 and Tier 2 shotguns. Coach is voiced by Chad L. Coleman. Ellis Ellis is a mechanic hailing from Savannah, similar to Coach. He wears a yellow t-shirt with a logo, a white and blue baseball cap, half-removed overalls and black work boots. Ellis appears to have a lack of comprehension of the seriousness of his current situation and retains a somewhat goofy personality in comparison to the other Survivors. Ellis also has a love interest in Zoey when he first meets her in The Passing. In-game, Ellis has preference for the Sniper and Hunting Rifle. Ellis is voiced by Eric Ladin. Nick Nick is a shady con man and gambler drifting from city to city, having got caught up in the current crisis throughout Savannah. He wears an expensive white suit with a blue button-down shirt underneath, several gold rings and white leather shoes. Nick holds a negative and pessimistic view of the situation along with the three strangers he's forced to work with, but learns to trust them over the course of the game. In-game, Nick shows preference over Submachine Gun and Assault Rifle variant weaponry. Nick is voiced by Hugh Dillon. Rochelle Rochelle is a minor associate producer for an unknown news station with a high reputation, though her job had more to do with moving cables and coffee duties. She was in Savannah producing a segment about the evacuation center when the area became overrun with the Infected. She wears a pink t-shirt with a Depeche Mode logo, hoop earrings, blue jeans, a thin studded belt around her waist and knee-high brown boots. In-game, Rochelle has preferences similar to Nick; she prefers Submachine Gun and Assault Rifle variants. Rochelle is voiced by Rochelle Aytes. Non-playable Survivors The Church Guy '''The Church Guy' is a mentally unstable man who can be found in chapter three of the Death Toll campaign, The Church. He is afraid of the Infection, barricading himself in the safe room that the Survivors must get through. It is later revealed that he was bitten by a survivor who claimed to be immune, yet became an Infected; as a result he suffers from extreme paranoia of Survivors, and it has obviously driven him to insanity. After waiting for an hour, he assumes that he is immune. Ultimately, it turns out the Church Guy isn't immune after all; he will change into a Hunter, Smoker, or Boomer. He repeatedly says "Better safe than sorry," and causes a Crescendo Event where he rings the church bell to attract a Horde to kill the Survivors, apparently viewing this as a way for them to "prove their immunity/humanity". After the event, the safe room door can be opened and a Special Infected will emerge, providing a conclusion to his change. The Infected he will change into can be foretold by listening to the Church Guy starting to growl (Hunter), cough (Smoker), or gurgle (Boomer) before the door is opened. After opening the door and ascending to the second floor of the safe room, the Survivors can see that the Church Guy has written his motto all over a wall, over 180 times. His voice actor, Nathan Vetterlein, also voiced the Scout from Valve's Team Fortress 2.http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2008/11/11/the-rps-electronic-wireless-show-episode-6/#more-4980 The Survivor who infected him is male, judging by the audio fileshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h1PjXFaQLI. However, a corpse of a female slumped against the wall in the safe room can be seen; it does not appear to be a Common Infected, but a body that spawns to set the mood like the dead soldiers on the roof of Mercy Hospital. However, this may be a slip-up by the creators, or she could have been killed by biting him. Another possibility is that due to his insanity he gets mistaken. Despite ongoing rumors and popular belief of a slim chance of it occurring, he will never turn into a Witch or a Tank after the Crescendo Event. If players were to examine the left4dead/scripts/'population.txt'' file, it appears that there is a 50% chance of a Boomer appearing, and 25% each of either a Smoker or a Hunter appearing. No mention of the Tank or the Witch are included in this file, making it clear that there is no chance of the Church Guy becoming a Tank or Witch unless there is a server-side mod in use. Alteration of the population.txt file to force the Church Guy to transform into a Tank or Witch can create very strange results, thus verifying the fact that the Church Guy will never spawn as a Tank or Witch. Audio * No, no, no, no, no! No, no! You said that last time! You said that last time! I trusted you last time! * Really? Only when you can prove you're immune. And I know just how to do it. * Only when I know you're human. * Get ready for the test. * I'm the one who decides who gets through this door! * I, I opened the door before and I got bit for my trouble. No. Better safe than sorry! Better safe than sorry! * Do you think I care how old you are? No! * You think you're special? With your, with your, with your leather jackets and your fancy blood? * Nobody rides for free! * Ding dong! * I am not a mental moron! * Can you really? * You don't sound like cops! * Your words mean shit to me! * Trying to intimidate me? Didn't help! * Well, you'll have to be alive to do that. * I'm not letting you in until I am sure you're immune! * Not infected? NOT INFECTED?! Prove it! * Ding dong! Ding dong! Dinners served! COME AND GET IT! * No, no, no one gets in here until I know you're immune. * I'm gonna ring this bell! I'm gonna ring the bell! And they'll come and they'll finish the job! * No! No! My safehouse! I've got the bell! You stay the hell out! My safehouse! * Come here! No! No, stay out! * Slide your guns under the door! * No! Go away! Better safe than sorry! * Better safe than sorry! Better safe than sorry! * No one gets in! * Go away! No one gets in! * I can make you leave! Don't believe me?! HOW ABOUT NOW?! * Better safe than..(Growling), better safe than..., better safe than.. (Growling). * Better safe than...(Growling) * (Coughing and growling) * (Growling) * (Panting) * I trusted you. You said you were immune. You said you were immune! That's... * Better safe than sorry, better safe than sorry. * (Panting) I can't believe he bit me! I never should've let him in. Won't fool me twice. I can't believe he bit me. * I can't believe he bit me. That's... * Better safe than sorry. No. No matter how human they look... won't be fooled twice. * It's been an hour. It's been an hour! Must be immune. Thats right! (Panting) No, I have to... I have to be immune. * Better safe than sorry, better safe than sorry, better safe than sorry, better safe than sorry, better... better safe than sorry. * Who's there? * Is someone there? * Don't make me use this bell! * I've got a bell in here! * I'm gonna start ringing this church bell if you don't say something! * What's going on out there?! * I can here you out there! * I heard that! * Better safe than *bleurghhh*..... better saaaafe tha- *gulp* *bleurghhhhh* Whitaker '''Whitaker is a 60-year-old manWhitaker sound files, conversation06.wav: "I've been on this world 60 years, ma'am..." who owns a gun shop located in front of Liberty Mall in the Dead Center campaign. By the time the Survivors arrive at his gun store, he has already barricaded himself upstairs with large amounts of ammunition and provisions. When the Survivors enter his store, Whitaker contacts them over an intercom, offering to clear a roadblock that is preventing the Survivors from reaching the mall with a grenade launcher if they go to the nearby Save 4 Less supermarket and fetch him a six-pack of Cola. A Crescendo Event is triggered when the Survivors enter the supermarket, with the burglar alarm going off and summoning a Horde. After retrieving the Cola, Whitaker launches a grenade at the roadblock, destroying it and allowing the Survivors to continue to the mall. Some think it may be a Rocket Launcher due to the different sound effect than a Grenade Launcher when shot. Originally, Whitaker was supposed to cover the Survivors with an unknown weapon, possibly the grenade launcher. game_sounds_whitaker, DefendChatter07.wav: "I'll cover you! Go!" Note that the Fallen Survivor Uncommon Infected model uses an Infected version of his model. Whitaker is very similar to Andy from'' Dawn of the Dead (2004). They are both apocalypse survivors who own a barricaded gun store across the street from a mall with heavy ammunition and lacking important supplies (food for Andy, Cola for Whitaker.). Whitaker is voiced by Dayton Callie. Evacuation Personnel During the finale of each scenario, a Survivor in a vehicle must arrive to rescue the four main characters from their evacuation point. These Survivors are never seen, as they are usually concealed behind the windscreens of their vehicles, excluding the helicopter pilot from the No Mercy campaign. These Survivors include the aforementioned helicopter pilot from No Mercy, the boat drivers (John and Amanda Slater) from Death Toll, the ''C-130 pilot from Dead Air, and the APC driver from Blood Harvest. In all cases you communicate with them via radio. It also indicates more Survivors in Blood Harvest when contacting the driver of the APC. After you answer the radio, one of the radio communicators yells back to another one. One of the two is presumably the driver. Each rescuer has separate motives for rescuing the Survivors: * The helicopter pilot in No Mercy appears to be affiliated with either the military or CEDA, regularly evacuating civilians to an unknown safe zone. However, since he flies the News Chopper 5, it can also be assumed he was simply a former news pilot evacuating civilians out of good will. If this is the case, he was part of a fairly large news network considering there are posters for the helicopter in The Subway. His voice actor is Dennis Bateman, who also voiced the Spy and Pyro in Team Fortress 2. * John and Amanda Slater (the boat pilots) are civilians hoping to gain additional firepower as they escape from Riverside. John's voice actor is John Patrick Lowrie, who voiced the Sniper in Team Fortress 2. * The C-130 pilot appears to be stranded at the airport due to a lack of fuel, refusing to leave his plane and expose himself to the Infected. His voice actor is Gary Schwartz, who voiced the Heavy and Demoman in Team Fortress 2. * The APC driver in Blood Harvest is a member of the US military who was ordered to evacuate the Survivors to an unknown, presumably northern safe zone. His voice actor is David Scully, who voiced Sergeant Johnson in the Halo series. * The helicopter pilot in Dark Carnival is never directly contacted, but is presumably looking for survivors for the same reason the helicopter pilot in No Mercy was. They also share the same character model. * Virgil is a boat owner who presumably picks up the Survivors out of a combination of kindness, potential loneliness, and to utilize them to get fuel from the mainland. * The military helicopter pilot in The Parish has been tasked with orders to pull out of the mainland, with the Survivors being informed if they can make it to his location before he takes off, he'll transport them. Below are the captions of quotes stored within the game files, but not actually heard or used within the game. News 5 Chopper Pilot The Chopper pilot is seen in the intro video to Left 4 Dead, and in the start of No Mercy he tells anyone who can hear him to precede to Mercy Hospital where they can contact him with a radio and he will pick them up and bring them to an unknown location. During the rescue at the top of Mercy Hospital, he will engage in communication with the Survivors, where he will reveal he had a 'incident', implying he attempted another rescue earlier but was attacked by the Infected. Unfortunately for the Survivors who are rescued and taken to apparent safety, the pilot is infected, turns into an Infected mid-flight, and is shot by Zoey, forcing a crash landing. John and Amanda Slater John Slater is contacted in the end of the Death Toll campaign. He and his wife pick up the Survivors in their boat and get them away from Riverside. According to the comic, the Survivors were later thrown off the boat and left to die. The reason for this is unknown. Given that the owners specifically mention they will only rescue armed survivors, it's possible they only do so to rob them, explaining why the four once again only have basic weapons in the next campaign. Francis mentions the Slaters' marriage is troubled. Also, the Survivors are presumed Carriers in the Comic. If this is so, then they may have Infected John and Amanda unintentionally, but their resistance held out until after they kicked the original Survivors off the boat or they may be Immune/Carriers too. * "Hello? See Amanda, I told you someone was still out there!" * "Yeah! Yeah...ok...Amanda. They're doing fine. Yes. Boy. Go..." * "They're not doing that well. Listen, if I had guns I could do the same thing." * "Great. Okay, okay, sweetie. Yeah. It's...okay." * "On our way. But let's be clear: once you get on this boat? Your job is keeping our asses alive." * " ...Guess that makes two of us..." * "You were against buying the boat too, Amanda." * "Your problem, Amanda, is that you don't think about the little guy!" * "We're not coming in with that Tank there. Take care of it or you're on your own." * "Almost there! Get ready. We don't want to sight-see when we get there." * "Amanda, goddammit, this needs to get done." * "Amanda, if the world is ending - well, then it's ending. Can't hurt to spend our last hours trying to do some good, eh?" * "So what, then? We leave 'em to die? I can't do that, Amanda." * "You know, I could come to my senses and start listenin' to my smart, beautiful wife here." * "You know, we can hear you right now. You need to press the button again to get off the frequency." * "You know, my wife's been making some very good points here. You want me to put her in charge?" * "Yeah, go ahead and weigh your hundreds of options." * "I don't want our first act of kindness to be our last" Plane Pilot The plane pilot evacuates the Survivors out of Newburg in the Dead Air campaign. In the comic, Francis mentions the plane later crashed. It is unknown why this happened or what became of the pilot. * "Someone gonna help that oldtimer?" * "Man, that thing looks like my ex-wife! [Chuckles] Don't forget to tip yer waitress, I'll be here all week." * "Ain't nobody gonna help that pretty young thing?" * "Nobody gonna help that little girl?" * "Hey guys, I think suit and tie's down." * "Holy shit, lookit the size of that thing!" * "Man, I almost wish I was down there! That looks like fun!" * "Look out, folks. That sneaky zombie's around somewhere." * "Uh oh. You see where that sneaky guy went?" * "Hey, that big greasy fella's down!" * "Hey, Vest! Behind you!" * "Man! No offense, but I can't believe you guys're still alive right now!" * "I'd be out there with you if I didn't have all this pilot stuff to take care of!" * "That thing's jumpin' around like spit on a hot skillet!" * "Man, that thing's got a big tongue!" * "Yeah yeah yeah, I'm a coward for not helpin' ya. Guess I'll just sit up here in my cockpit, flyin' you out of this hellhole, like I flown everyone else who came here lookin' for help. But no, thank you for bein' honest!" * "You callin' me a coward? Get this straight! I can fly planes! You can run around gettin' killed! In a post-apocalyptic world, that makes me valuable and y'all worthless!" * "You sayin' I'm yellow? I been riskin' my life flying people outta this airport all goddamn day! Then the government dropped a bomb on me! So excuse me if I don't skip down there and pick a rifle!" * "Jesus crow, look at the size of that one!" * "Uh oh. Well, nothing wrong with a lighter load." * "Shit. Well, there's more room for the rest of us, I guess." * "Man. I bet that fellah works out." * "Looks like we just got an opening for first class." * "Hoo. Well, I guess the rest of us can stretch out in the plane now." * "Ohhhhhhh, shit. That is unfortunate." * "Huh! I thought your bacon was cooked for sure!" * "Uh oh! Fuel tank's leaking! Nah, just kidding!" * "Hooo! Bet you don't want to do that again!" * "Did you guys shoot that plane down? 'Rescue 9' Rescue 9 is not just one person, but a platoon of soldiers, who respond to the Survivors when they communicate via radio. Rescue 9 sends out an Armored Personnel Carrier to pick up the Survivors at the end of the Blood Harvest campaign. The Sacrifice comic reveals Rescue 9 brought the Survivors to Millhaven instead of the Echo Safe Zone, in order to find a cure to the Infection. In addition, the comic reveals one of the soldiers in the APC was Lt. Mora, who personally drove so he could witness the Infected for himself. Due to some of the unused lines one could think the farmhouse was supposed to be blown up after the truck picked up the survivors. * "Sit back and enjoy the show. We can take it from here." * "Glad you made it. Why don't you sit back...and enjoy the show." * "We're gonna send these things back to Hell." * "BOOOOOM!" * "Ah ha ha ha! Yeah, baby!" * "Blow it up!" * "If you'll look slightly to your left...boom!" * "And to your right, boys...bam!" * "BOOM!" * "Now that's what I call a show!" * "Get on so we can get our asses out of here." * "The zombies are no more, BOOOOM!" * "Man, you guys are lucky to get here." Virgil A character appearing in Left 4 Dead 2 with a Cajun accent. He drives the escape boat in Swamp Fever, has the Survivors gather fuel on the mainland and return to the boat in Hard Rain, then drops off the Survivors at the beginning of The Parish. Virgil may be immune to the virus and is saving survivors out of good will, and to use them to gather fuel. He has become a widower after his wife was killed by an Infected bite, and will occasionally refer to himself in third-person. His boat is named the Lagniappe, a reference to the Louisiana custom of the same name, meaning a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase. There is a joke on the steam forums that states that Virgil is a talking boat. This "theory" is substantiated by Chet Faliszek who stated that "Virgil is not a Man" when someone asked why Virgil existed during the "Last Man on Earth" Mutationshttp://img718.imageshack.us/i/capturefm.jpg/. Virgil is voiced by Randall Newsome Papa Gator and Rescue 7 In the start of The Bridge in The Parish, two soldiers can be heard speaking over radio. They are known by their codenames "Papa Gator" and "Rescue 7". They arrange for the evacuation of the Survivors from New Orleans. :Papa Gator: Rescue 7 this is Papa Gator, over. :Rescue 7: This is Rescue 7, over. :Papa Gator: Rescue 7 what is your prepare stat? Over. :Rescue 7: Prepare ETA 10 minutes over. :Papa Gator: Did not copy, say again Rescue 7, over. :Rescue 7: Ten minutes, over. :Papa Gator: Copy that, all lambs extracted, last buzzard starts running in 15 minutes, copy that? Over. :Rescue 7: Roger that Papa Gator, 15 minutes. Ah, be advised, we have seen flashes on the west bank, ah... visually confirmed west bank is clear, over :Papa Gator: West bank is clear Rescue 7, ah... sector is clear, over. :Rescue 7: Negative. We are seeing something, over. :Papa Gator: Rescue 7, are you... ah... seeing Whiskey Delta, or friendly? Over. :Rescue 7: Ah… unclear, it- :Papa Gator: Whiskey Delta, or friendly? Over. :Rescue 7: Papa Gator, we’re not sure, we’re seeing... ah... multiple personnel and small arms fire. What is our current ROE? Over. :Papa Gator: Rescue 7, all lost lambs are account for, targets should be considered hostile. Only prosecute targets that are a clear threat, over. :Rescue 7: Roger Papa Gator, all personnel on floating LZ, clear for last buzzard run, over :Papa Gator: Affirmative Rescue 7, keep the bridge deck clear. Last buzzard run will start in 15 minutes. Out :Rescue 7: Ah-ffirmative, out. Nondescript Survivors :See also: Graffiti As well as the eight playable Survivors, there are also known to be many more uninfected humans fighting the Infected and trying to escape the area that the twelve campaigns take place in. All except the chopper pilot and Whitaker remain unseen and most are unnamed; however, they are evident by graffiti left around most of the chapters, mainly in the safe rooms. The safe rooms themselves are proof of other Survivors, as they are pre-created before the playable Survivors get to them, which implies other humans have created them to give other Survivors a place to rest and stock up on ammo. Also, mostly in city chapters, gunfire can be heard in the background. In some graffiti, it is also stated that there were more Survivors who were immune; whether they're immune or not, however, is not mentioned. The only other Survivors encountered are only spoken with, either through radio in an evacuation finale, or in the case of the "Church Guy", who locks the playable Survivors out of the safe room and tries to kill them by attracting a Horde. Keith A friend of Ellis'. He is often mentioned in stories Ellis tells while in a Safe Room. If Ellis' stories are to be believed, Keith has suffered from third-degree burns over a major percentage of his body twice (95% making fireworks, 90% deep frying turkey), lost two fingers and a thumb to frostbite, broke both of his legs after driving his car off a cliff, built a shack out of mud, been stabbed by a homeless man, got tear gassed by the police (the effects of which lasted for a year), snuck a paintball gun on a roller coaster, got attacked by an alligator, bombed by the military (among the bombs, Ellis claims, were nerve gas and cluster bombs), drowned in the Tunnel of Love, got cut up by his own "bumper-car" lawn mower leaving him with wounds over 90% of his body, got cement paved over him in a sewer after falling down an open manhole, lived in a graveyard for a year after getting kicked out of his house, hung spit on the overhang in the Tunnel of Love, fell off a roller coaster onto the tracks with the ride still going, got a tattoo on his forehead saying 'I'm a moron' for a dare, winning $200, ate three pounds of raw chicken (the in game subtitles say catfish) and lost sensation in his right foot doing so, turned a recreation of colonial times into a raccoon fight in his backyard, drove across a river without using the bridge, married a couple, and would have even gotten married himself, had he not ran away from his wedding. It is possible he never existed in the first place, and Ellis simply made him up to make himself seem tougher, or just to pass the time and make friends with the other Survivors. It is likely that Valve simply added Keith as comedic relief in the serious game. At one point during Hard Rain, Ellis even confuses the Survivors fighting their way through the burning hotel in Dead Center for something that happened to Keith. It is unknown if Keith is still alive and/or uninfected or even real. If Keith is real and is indeed alive, it is very possible and likely that he is fighting the Horde, seeing as so many incidents failed to kill him. However, in certain cut lines, Ellis claims he was the first on a helicopter. But, looking at how he's extremely unlucky but manages to survive, it's not likely that he's meeting any other Survivors or getting evacuated. It is worth noting that a graffiti on the wall in The Subway reads as “Keith: Waited 3 days at the meeting spot after we got separated. I can’t wait anymore. Meet me at Mercy Hospital – Krista". However this could just be a coincidence, seeing as Keith is a relatively common name and is unlikely a person would travel all the way from Georgia to Pennsylvania, which happens to be the very place where the Infection broke out, just to get rescued. After contacting Gabe Newell, asking if Keith is actually real, he answered saying "Keith isn’t imaginary, except, well, it is a video game, so it’s all imaginary." A full listing of stories concerning Keith by Ellis can be found here. Distant Survivors In the campaigns Dead Air, No Mercy, Crash Course, and sometimes at the end of The Town (as well as the main menu), occasionally, a distant gunshot, explosion, or gun burst may be heard. It can only be assumed that these are other Survivors fighting off the Infected. As they are infrequent, however, it is likely that few of them survived, or simply moved out of hearing range. Not to say that none of them do, as, from The Sewer, looking very closely at the roof of Mercy Hospital in the distance, a white helicopter (different from the red, white, and blue chopper used by the Survivors) can be seen flying in and out, hinting at more than one evacuation. The helicopter pilot will also sometimes comment to the Survivors "Looks like you're gonna be my final run,", further indicating that he had been saving other Survivors from the rooftop. As this may be true, in Crash Course, Francis and Zoey fight constantly over the dead pilot. He can be heard saying he had an "incident", and that maybe he is trying to help you get away as far as he can before transforming into an Infected. He seems aware that he is going to die. He was going to be in the game, or at least the sound files were, but what he said during Infection left players with a bitter taste after their victory, so his audio files were never introduced into the game when it was first released. The audio clips do activate with the Crash Course DLC installed, however. It should also be noted that the pilot's model seems to be in Left 4 Dead 2 taking the Survivors from the finale of Dark Carnival and eventually crashing, as in Crash Course. The Midnight Riders The Midnight Riders is a Southern rock band who was supposed to play in Whispering Oaks Amusement park but due to the Infection they had to cancel, so they were picked up by a helicopter, their status is unknown but the pilot was fine (by that time) so one can assume they were when they were dropped off. They are mentioned several times throughout Dark Carnival but never encountered, they do however have their own webpage which can be found here. http://www.midnight-riders.com/ Survivors from The Sacrifice comic Ray Ray was a fellow co-worker and possible friend of Left 4 Dead Survivor Louis at a business called "Franklin Brothers" in Philadelphia PA, until the second day after the first Infection. During the second day Ray decides to call out of work much to Louis' dismay, claiming he does not want to go to work because of the rapidly spreading infection and would rather stay home from work then risk getting exposed to the Green Flu. His fate is unknown. Wade and Carolyn Wade and Carolyn are Zoey's parents, who are either divorced or separated. Zoey was living with her father at an apartment near her college for one semester, while Carolyn lives at their family home with a man named Kevin. Her mother is upset that she wants to quit college after just one semester, while her father is more easy-going and thinks she would do well in the family business in the police force. Unfortunately Carolyn is bitten by an intruder, turns into an Infected and ends up biting Wade, who shoots Carolyn when she goes after Zoey. Wade reminds Zoey of all the zombie films they watched when she was younger where the protagonists have to shoot someone before they turned, implying Zoey would have to shoot him, which she does after their final words of love with each other. Zoey is horrified to learn later on that her father may have been a Carrier, which may have meant he was immune to turning into an Infected, making her mercy-killing pointless. Sandra Sandra is Francis' ex-girlfriend that was at a bar with Francis and his friends. Unfortunately she ends up becoming infected when her and Francis are kissing in a back room at the bar after puking on his vest and biting his neck. She goes to finish him off but is shot by Francis' friend Duke. Duke Duke is a friend of Francis, when Francis's girlfriend turned into a zombie and Francis didn't realise what was happening to her, Duke shot and killed her with a shotgun. Duke is wearing a Midnight Riders t-shirt and appear to believe in government conspiracies, stating that heroin, satelites and cell phones somehow was always meant to lead up to the zombie apocalypse. It is not known if he is alive or how he got separated from Francis. Major Everly The man in charge of Millhaven, Major Everly does not believe in the Special Infected's various abilities, nor in their existence, and refuses to believe the Infected are capable of climbing the 20 foot walls surrounding Millhaven. Major Everly is eventually overthrown by Lt. Mora after the Lieutenant sounds the alarm and storms into the Major's office with two other soldiers, presumably from his platoon. While Mora and his soldiers attempted to make their way out of the facilitiy, Everly rallied those soldiers still loyal to him to attempt an evacuation via helicopters. Unfortunately, the rampaging Tank that killed Mora attacked Everly's helicopter as it was departing from the base and threw it at the Survivors, causing it to explode and kill all of it's passengers, Everly presumed to be among them. Lt. Mora A paranoid soldier of high ranking who is concerned about the safety of Millhaven under the leadership of Major Everly, as well as believing Carriers and Infected being as bad as each other. Lt. Mora personally took part in the rescue mission of Bill, Francis, Louis, and Zoey in order to witness the Infected for himself, especially the Special Infected. Lt. Mora believes so many Carriers in Millhaven is a bad thing, and overthrows Major Everly due to disagreements on the safety of the military outpost as well as refusing to risk his platoon in a supposedly "unsafe" outpost, or for Carriers who might as well be on the Infected's side. During the events of part 3's comic, Lt.Mora fought alongside his soldiers, ensuring all of them gets to safety before he does so, however an infected manages to take off his gas mask before he could get himself to safety. His soldiers, out of fear that he might now be Infected, decide to leave him for dead. After slaughtering the horde of Infected, he confronts the Survivors, who appear like monsters to his Infected eyes. Francis convinces him that everything is Louis' fault but before he can attack Louis, Lt. Mora is decapitated by a rampaging Tank. Jeff and Annie Two soldiers who guard Louis and Francis' cell at Millhaven. Louis explains to them the various Special Infected, which they know nothing of (the only exception being Lt. Mora giving them the name of the Smoker). When the compound is attacked by Infected, Jeff and Annie follow Louis' instructions in avoiding a Witch, which they repay by freeing the two Survivors from the cell, before taking them to the armory to get firearms. They encounter a Boomer, which Jeff shoots at initially, but is thrown off-balance by Louis while Francis dispatches it. Jeff then arms Louis with a pistol, while Francis gets one off the now-dead Boomer. Jeff and Annie allows Louis to take point due to his superior knowledge of the Infected. During part 3 of the comic, both of them along with the doctor, follow the Survivors, thus making them the only few Survivors making it out of Millhaven alive. However, nearing to an end, Jeff and Annie decide to leave for another choke point, stating that their gas masks might eventually malfunction and the disease might spread to them if that happens. At the end of the part 3 comic, it is shown that they quickly change their minds and attempt to board the train, but fail to do so, partly due to Bill refusing to slow down. It is shown that Annie does not survive the horde assault as shown in one picture of her gas mask being taken off and her trying to fight off the Infected as they swarm in on her. Jeff's fate was not revealed in the comic, but there is a body with a gas mask in the final frame of part 3 that could be him. The Doctor A doctor at Millhaven, who collects saliva from Zoey in an attempt to find a cure. He is pessimistic about his chances, and states that the Army will kill him when they realize he can't stop the Infection. He offers to help Bill and Zoey escape from Millhaven, providing they can get him out as well. He accompanied the Survivors from Part 2 to Part 3, and attempted to tag along with the Survivors to head down to the south. However, he failed to get on the train before Bill started it up. His final moments show him being ensared by a Smoker while reaching out just inches from the train's door until the Infected swarm him. Zoey, wanting to help him, tells Bill to stop the train. Bill, however, ignores her, and the Doctor is killed. Rivera A soldier guarding Zoey and Bill while they are tested at Millhaven. He outraged Bill and Zoey when he threatened her at gunpoint, so Bill distracted him while Zoey hits him with it. His gas mask being dislodged in the struggle, Rivera entered a state of panic, fearing infection from Zoey and begging her not to approach him. His fate is unknown as he is carried off by another soldier who arrives on the scene when the Doctor shouts out "Rivera's down!". Notes * Church guy's audio clips * The major gameplay difference between the Survivors are the weapon preference as bots, and the "Hit Box". ** The primary weapon preference as Survivor Bots are always the same for every Survivors. Zoey and Ellis prefer sniper rifles, Francis and Coach prefer automatic shotguns, while other Survivors prefer assault rifles. ** For the secondary weapon preference in Left 4 Dead 2, Bots will usually prefer two Survivors using Magnums and two Survivors dual-wielding Pistols. However, Bots will occasionally favor a melee weapon instead. **The "Hit Box" is affected by the body size of Survivors. Taller, heavier Survivors (such as Coach) have a slightly larger "Hit Box" than shorter, slimmer Survivors (such as Rochelle). A larger Hit box means a higher chance of receiving friendly fire, and easier aiming for Special Infected. * As stated by the graffiti on the wall in The Terminal safe room, there is little or no access to an Internet connection in the post-apocalyptic world. * According to graffiti on the wall, cell phones used to work in Riverside before it was overrun. This implies cell phones have mostly been rendered useless, possibly by the destruction of cell towers by the Infected. * The Survivors were changed from their original looks to the new look to make them appear like someone you may encounter in real life, to make them look more "realistic". Survivors in Left 4 Dead 2 started from this, but still, have changed from the first screenshots and videos (everyone but Nick). * In Left 4 Dead, it seems possible that each scenario is geared towards being the "home" of one of the Survivors (Excluding Rochelle, who doesn't seem to say anything about where you can find various landmarks. ** Bill makes a comment about the trailer in Blood Harvest, asking Francis if it reminded him of home, although this is most likely intended as an insult to Francis. This could also mean that Francis lives in a trailer somewhere. ** Louis seems to know somewhat trivial pieces of information involving the sewer system of Riverside. He also seems to know his way around Fairfield, even in the sewer; he knows when the Survivors have arrived at the hospital. Like Bill, he may insult Francis by making a comment of an Alleyway in Crash Course, asking him if it was where he was born, prompting Francis to ask if it's the one he'll die in.dlc2alley01 (Louis): "Hey Francis, weren't this the alley you was born in?" ** Zoey said that she always liked the main street in Riverside, and also, in some early Left 4 Dead articles, she is referenced as being from a farm, indicating a possible relation to Blood Harvest. She also states that she has been to Newburg before. ** Francis is surprisingly knowledgeable about the area of Newburg near the airport, and seems to know his way around the airport itself. ** Both Bill and Louis appear to know their way around Fairfield, knowing that the subway's Red Line heads straight to Mercy Hospital, and that it is possible to reach the hospital by going through the waterworks (which leads into the sewer). ** Coach mentions living in Savannah and seems to know his way around well, and also becomes rather offended when Nick responds to talk of a gun store with "Living here is finally paying off." ** Ellis is a native of Savannah, and will sometimes volunteer to "show you the sights on the way to the mall". He also knows where the gun shop is and how to get to the mall. * In the beta of Left 4 Dead, Zoey and Francis show some sort of affection towards each other. This proved to be too distracting, so it was removed. * Chicago Ted's graffiti is based off found by Erik Wolpaw and Sean "Seanbaby" Reilly. * In the .txt files, "Church Guy" is shown to have the highest chance of becoming a Boomer. * The helicopter pilots in the No Mercy and Dark Carnival campaign and Whitaker in the Dead Center campaign (using No Clip) are the only Survivors that players can actually see alive in person (not counting the "Church Guy" who is never actually witnessed until becoming Infected). * Virgil is currently the only Survivor in the Left 4 Dead series to actually accompany the main Survivors in the game without falling victim to the Infection like No Mercy's helicopter pilot. This may imply, ironically, that the Survivors themselves are carriers of the virus (meaning that Virgil was simply immune, or is also a carrier). ** Wall writings and a conversation with the military during The Parish heavily imply that the Survivors are carriers. The frequent mention on The Parish walls of carriers being sequestered and executed bodes ill for both sets of Survivors after their final military rescues. However, it is also implied that the Infected will leave carriers alone, and that obviously hasn't happened to the Survivors. It is also stated through the same graffiti however, that non-carrier survivors dislike carrier survivors, implying that not all survivors are carriers. This theory is reinforced by the willingness of the military to save the survivors multiple times throughout the series. * The character Virgil is a possible reference to Virgil of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, a Roman poet that guided Dante through Hell and Purgatory. Virgil of Left 4 Dead 2 provides a similar role in guiding the Survivors from one area to another. * The helicopter pilot at the end of the Dark Carnival campaign uses the same model as the one in No Mercy of the original Left 4 Dead and ironically befalls the same fate. * Helicopter pilots becoming Infected in mid-flight appears to be a running gag in Left 4 Dead games. However, it is not clear what happened to the military chopper in The Parish as of it being made to transport carriers who the Survivors might be, so there aren't much chances of the pilot sharing his colleagues' fate. * The close quarters of a helicopter and recent splattering with infected fluids from the finales could also be the cause of these infections if the infection is blood-borne, assuming the helicopter pilots weren't infected before meeting the survivors. Carrier or true immune, the survivors are likely heavily contaminated by the time they are rescued, which would result in infection when in close proximity to non-immunes. * The military's treatment of the Survivors as carriers is prudent, as until a proper decontamination can be performed, the Survivors are carrying the infection on them in one form or another, if only from the close quarters combat with the infected during the finale, coating them in a fresh layer of potentially infectious body fluids. * Some lines of original Survivors text lines were re-used (or a little less changed) on new Survivors (only voiced by their voice actors). For example , Bill and Coach say the same phrase when healing other Survivors: "Stop squirmin', I'm gonna heal you," , or Francis and Rochelle say: "I'm gonna give that Witch something to cry about." * In the beta version of Left 4 Dead, you could lock doors to stop incoming Common Infected for a short time. It was most likely scrapped due to the amount of doors there were to get to the Survivors, so they could get away if low on health or they didn't want the Infected to open doors. *According to the information on the upcoming campaign The Sacrifice, when downloaded and played on Left 4 Dead 2, the player will also gain No Mercy and will be able to play as the original Survivors again with the Left 4 Dead 2 Infected, weapons, and items. *It is possible to spawn the Left 4 Dead '' Survivors in any campaign in ''Left 4 Dead 2, but if you spawn them directly the game will crash because of a precaching error. To fix this you must spawn the original Survivors models yourself with prop_dynamic_create (Cheats needed to do this, and only works if you opened a map by typing in the console "map MAPNAMEHERE"), after you have spawned the original Survivors models it's okay to spawn the original Survivors now because they have had their models spawned. But you will not be able to play as or control them with "sb_takecontrol". *Wooden 42 pound crates of US military K-rations appear in most Left 4 Dead safe houses. K-rations are an obsolete class of combat ration that was first issued in World War 2. They were intended for short-term consumption only since the calorie content was inadequate to maintain a soldier's physical condition during hard and prolonged exertion. It is assumed that the Survivors sustain themselves on K-ration packs yet it is noticeable that none of them appear to have lost weight as their clothes still fit perfectly. It is therefore logical to believe that The Survivors spend most of their time holed up in safe houses conserving energy and that Campaign episodes depict short and intense opportunistic break-outs. Even when freshly made, the monotonous nature of K-rations is well-documented whilst the taste and condition of such items taken from long-term military storage can only be imagined: which may explain Zoey's enthusiasm for peanut butter in Part Three of The Sacrifice comic. *In The Sacrifice (comic), it is revealed that the Left 4 Dead Survivors are, in fact, carriers, and have been unintentionally transmitting The Infection across Pennsylvania. Whether this means that all immune Survivors are carriers is currently unknown. ** However, it is possible that the Survivors may not be carriers and may be completely immune, as all the people they encounter in the game were either pre-infected (such as the pilot of the helicopter in No Mercy and the Church Guy in "Death Toll") or had long exposure to the survivors, yet showed no signs (such as the Slaters from "Death Toll", which can be speculated that hours were spent with them and the survivors were kicked off before the start of "Dead Air", which may have been either set at dawn or dusk some time after "Death Toll") within minutes to an hour of meeting them (the timeframe drawn from what was written on walls of one of the safe rooms and one of Church Guy's random comments in "Death Toll"). As for why the plane from "Dead Air" crashed is currently unknown. So, the Doctor in the comic is speculating that they may be carriers, but has yet to confirm it with a testing of the samples he's taken from them in Part 2 of the comic. ** In part one, Mora calls himself a Captain. However, in Part 2, he is referred to as a Lieutenant. Furthermore, when called on the Radio in Blood Harvest, the Soldier says "I don't believe it, Captain! We got Survivors out there!". This may be an oversight. Gallery ''Left 4 Dead'' Image:concept-survivors1.jpg|Initial concept art of the Left 4 Dead Survivors. Image:Left-4-dead-character-artwork-big.jpg|A fan made representation of the Left 4 Dead Survivors based on initial concept art. Image:The Survivors alley2-1280.jpg|Appearance of the Left 4 Dead Survivors during initial game development. Image:The survivors.gif|Appearance of the Left 4 Dead Survivors during first beta testing. Image:New-concept-characters.jpg|Concept art, near final appearance of the Left 4 Dead Survivors. ''Left 4 Dead 2'' Image:Oxm2.jpg|The Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors as they appeared in the Official Xbox Magazine. Image:Hql4d2s.jpg|The Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors as they appear on the E3 09 trailer. Image:The Survivors22.jpg|Current appearance of the Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors. Image:The_Survivors_of_L4D2.JPG|The Survivors of Left 4 Dead 2. (From left to right: Ellis, Coach, Rochelle, and Nick) Image:L4d2faces.jpg|''Left 4 Dead 2'' Survivors having their expressions recorded. Others Image:L4dandl4d2models.jpg|The Survivors' face models. c1m2_streets0007.jpg|Whitaker as seen through noclip L4dpg83.jpg|Annie, Louis, Francis, and Jeff battle a Horde at Millhaven Base. References External links *Survivor descriptions *